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Rock 'n' roll Hall-of-Famer Johnny Maestro loses battle with cancer

Performed with The Brooklyn Bridge in East Rockaway in 2008's Oktoberfest

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Singer Johnny Maestro, whose popular songs "Sixteen Candles" with The Crests and "The Worst that Could Happen" with The Brooklyn Bridge, died on Mar. 24 after a battle with cancer. He was 70 years old. He began his career in the early days of rock 'n' roll, singing on street corners and in subways.

He was born John Mastrangelo in Brooklyn on May 7, 1939 and started his singing career as the first lead singer of The Crests -- one of the first interracial groups in rock 'n' roll. Some of their hits include "Step by Step," "Sixteen Candles," and "There's Trouble in Paradise."

After four decades, Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge were still singing and touring. They appeared in East Rockaway at the villages Oktoberfest in the fall of 2008.